In Minnesota, pulltab, bar game sales strong; increase over last year

Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 10:43 a.m.

Sales of pulltabs and other bar games increased 3 percent in the last fiscal year to $1.45 billion, making them the second-biggest form of gambling in Minnesota.

"It may be a function of a good economy," said Gary Danger, a spokesman for the state Gambling Control Board, which regulates charitable gambling. "There's more discretionary money - even for gambling."

Tribal casinos, the single biggest gambling industry in Minnesota, don't release financial figures, but they continued to expand in the late 1990s. A state advisory panel that studied gambling in 1995 estimated that about $2.5 billion was bet that year in tribal casinos.

About 5 percent of sales from pulltabs and other bar games - $78.4 million - went to charities and other organizations. Most of the money gambled on the games was returned in prizes. Other expenses included salaries for game operators, booth rentals, accounting and taxes.

Charitable contributions from gambling also increased during the period from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999, reaching the highest figure in seven years. That gain occurred after the state reduced taxes on the games. But the contributions lag behind those made in the early 1990s, when a greater share of income after prizes went to charity.

The charities want another reduction in gambling taxes.

The increased sales of bar games appear to be part of a broader trend in the gambling industry, which continues to see steady growth.

The Minnesota State Lottery saw a record year in the 12 months ending June 30, with $390 million in sales, a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year. Sales rose during a runup in the Powerball jackpot to $151 million on June 30, 1999, when Farrah Slad of Brainerd won it.

While the Powerball rules were changed two years ago to make it harder to win the jackpot and, consequently, increase its size to lure players, bar games have been run roughly the same for years. A nationwide decline in drinking hasn't resulted in a drop in gambling at bars.

Minnesota has the largest sales from bar games of any state that reports figures.